- Viserys hosts a tournament to celebrate the birth of his second child. Rhaenyra welcomes her uncle Daemon back to the Red Keep.
- The lords of Westeros gather in a Great Council to elect an heir to succeed Jaehaerys I, who has no living children. The council chooses his eldest grandson, Viserys, over his eldest grandchild, Rhaenys, to succeed their grandfather, being heavily influenced by the customs of patriarchal rule. Nine years later, Viserys hosts a tournament to celebrate the impending birth of a potential heir. However, Queen Aemma insists it will be their last child, whether it's a boy or a girl, since she can't bear to mourn another child after a series of miscarriages and stillbirths have only produced a single living child. However, Viserys is confident this child will be a boy and he will finally have an heir. But until he does, his brother Daemon is the presumptive heir. Later in the day, Viserys is forced to choose between the life of his heir and that of his wife during a difficult birth that will likely kill them both. His wife dies giving birth to his son, but the little solace an heir brings is short-lived, as the boy dies the next day. Viserys hosts a series of Small Council meetings where members indicate concern over the actions of Prince Dameon. They believe his temperament, attitude and judgment will prevent him from ruling justly should he inherit the Iron Throne. While the King vigorously defends his brother, a series of actions by his brother and a disagreement over how the power of the crown should be asserted force Viserys to question his current plan of succession. The pressure to protect the realm by having an acceptable heir that all the noble houses will support and ensure no competing claims are made weighs heavily on him. Viserys has spent the better part of a decade trying to produce a suitable male heir at great personal cost, in order to prevent a civil war after his death. But, he realizes only now that he had a worthy heir all along in his daughter, Rhaenyra. Although she has no royal aspirations, she is well-suited to lead the realm. Viserys summons the realm's nobility to a gathering to settle the matter. As he bears witness on the Iron Throne, Viserys asks the noble houses to all declare an oath of fealty to him and his designated heir, Rhaenyra.—Anonymous
- With both his sons dead, old King Jaehaerys I Targaryen convenes a Great Council to choose an heir. The Westerosi lords select Jaehaerys' eldest grandson, Prince Viserys, over Princess Rhaenys, the eldest grandchild. Nine years into his reign, King Viserys organizes a tournament to celebrate Queen Aemma Arryn's pregnancy, confident she is carrying his long-awaited male heir. The Small Council disregards Master of Ships Lord Corlys Velaryon's warning that the Triarchy, an alliance of Essos' Free Cities, threatens to cripple Westerosi shipping lanes. Hand of the King, Ser Otto Hightower, criticizes Viserys's brother and heir, Prince Daemon, for his brutality as the City Watch commander. At the tournament, the young, handsome Ser Criston Cole, a common-born knight, outcompetes Daemon. Meanwhile, Viserys sacrifices Aemma in childbirth, performing a C-section. Their newborn son, Baelon, dies shortly after. Viserys refuses the council's pleas to appoint a new heir until Otto reveals that Daemon mockingly styled Baelon as, "The Heir for a Day." Outraged, Viserys banishes Daemon from King's Landing and appoints his only living child, Princess Rhaenyra, heir to the Iron Throne, revealing to her Aegon the Conqueror's dream that inspired him to unify Westeros.
- Without a surviving son as obvious heir to his Iron Throne, king Jaehaerys I Targaryen convened the great council of nobles from the seven kingdoms of Westeros to chose one. After much debate, it appointed his eldest grandson prince Viserys, whose brother Daemon felt passed-over as mentally unstable, and eldest granddaughter Rhaenys as female. After nine years of reign, Viserys orders an expensive tournament despite an empty treasury to celebrate the birth of a male heir after several miscarriages, but it survives only a day and his queen Aemma Arryn dies in the novel Cesarean. Daemon, side-tracked as commander of the gold-cloaked royal city guard, is surprisingly beaten at the tournament, despite his bloody prowess, by handsome, common-born knight Ser Criston Cole, and is almost deposed after gruesomely abusing his power to apply bloody punishment without any form of trial in an orgy of terror, but when hand Ser Otto Hightower reveals in the small council that Daemon called the late crown prince 'heir for a day' at the cremation by dragon breath, Viserys banishes him from the capital King's Landing and appoints daughter Rhaenyra, a dragon rider, as his new heir, informed about predecessor Aegon the Conqueror's dreamed prophecy the kingdoms must be truly united to withstand an apocalyptic Coming of Winter.—KGF Vissers
- In 101 AC, King Jaehaerys I Targaryen, having outlived all his children, convened a Great Council to select an heir and avoid a potential war of succession. While Prince Viserys, Jaehaerys' oldest grandson, was chosen, several lords supported Princess Rhaenys, Jaehaerys' oldest living descendant.
Nine years into Viserys's reign, his wife, Queen Aemma Arryn, is again with child. After many failed pregnancies, Viserys is certain Aemma will bear a healthy son. A great tournament is organized to celebrate the impending birth. Ser Otto Hightower, the Hand of the King, insists that Prince Daemon, Viserys's brother and heir presumptive, is unfit to rule, citing his brutal methods as Commander of the City Watch, but Viserys ignores his advice.
At the tournament, Viserys's only living child, Princess Rhaenyra, and her companion, Lady Alicent Hightower, Ser Otto's daughter, are intrigued by Ser Criston Cole, a handsome, common-born knight who defeats the popular Daemon in both jousting and melee. Meanwhile, Aemma suffers a breech birth that drastically risks both her life and her baby's. Viserys allows Grand Maester Mellos to perform a cesarean section, hoping to save the child, though knowing the procedure will kill Aemma. The infant, named Baelon, dies hours after his mother. Rhaenyra's dragon Syrax cremates their remains during the funeral.
At Ser Otto's request, Alicent makes a condolence visit to Viserys. Ser Otto later informs the Small Council that, at a local brothel, Daemon mockingly referred to the deceased Baelon as "the heir for a day." When confronted, Daemon says Viserys never supported him and claims he is a weak king manipulated by others, particularly Ser Otto. Outraged, Viserys removes Daemon as his heir in favor of Rhaenyra and banishes Daemon from King's Landing.
Viserys tells Rhaenyra a secret passed down through the generations: their ancestor Aegon the Conqueror dreamt of a threat from the North that Westeros can only defeat if a Targaryen sits on the Iron Throne. The lords of Westeros swear fealty to Rhaenyra as crown princess, while Daemon and his lover, Mysaria, depart atop his dragon, Caraxes.
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